Ukrainian ballerina uprooted by war flies high again in Swan Lake

Ganna Muromtseva, 29, a professional ballerina from Ukraine who fled her country after Russia’s invasion, tries on her headdress after a stage rehearsal for the Swan Lake ballet at the Hungarian State Opera in Budapest, Hungary, March 11, 2023. Muromtseva left Ukraine with just a bag when she was at the peak of her career at the National Opera of Ukraine, and after a year of trying to survive from one day to another and rebuilding herself as a dancer physically and mentally, she is now back at the top with the role of the White Swan and the Black Swan, which she had danced for more than five years as part of her Ukraine company in Kyiv, China and Tokyo before. "I'm happy to make a story on stage again," she said. "It is a totally different production (in Budapest), for me it feels like I really have to prove ... You have to be...very flexible in your head, not (just) in your body." REUTERS/Marton Monus

After the lights dim in Budapest's magnificent Opera House, Ukrainian ballerina Ganna Muromtseva flutters high with undulating arms in the lead role of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake ballet. At the end, the audience bursts into applause.

One year ago, the 29-year-old dancer fled Ukraine's capital Kyiv on a packed train with thousands of other refugees after the Russian invasion, wondering if she would ever be on stage again.